Past CCS Initiatives

In Japan, CCS has been considered since the 2000s as one of the future challenges in the Basic Energy Plan and other policies. Since the 2010s in particular, efforts have been put into concrete form as government CCS demonstration projects, and verification and technology development toward practical application have progressed.

Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Test by JCCS

The "Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Test" (project name: Large-Scale CCUS Demonstration Test in Tomakomai) was implemented by Japan CCS Co., Ltd. (JCCS), a project company funded by JAPEX and other private companies, under a government contract.

As of 2025, the government demonstration project is still ongoing. It is a demonstration in which a large volume of CO₂ is injected beneath the seabed offshore Tomakomai, Hokkaido.

• FY2012-FY2015: Preparation period
  - Design and construction of facilities necessary for the demonstration test
  - Drilling of wells necessary for CO₂ injection and observation
  - Installation of environmental monitoring equipment
  - Preliminary surveys of seawater and marine organisms under the Marine Pollution Prevention Act
• April 2016 - November 2019: CO₂ injection
  - On November 22, 2019, the targeted cumulative injection volume of 300,000 tons of CO₂ was achieved
• April 2016-present: Monitoring underway

Tomakomai Large-Scale CO₂ Injection Demonstration Test -- Surface Facilities
(Photo courtesy of Japan CCS Co., Ltd.)

As the largest shareholder of JCCS, JAPEX participates in the government demonstration test. In addition, JAPEX has provided technologies and expertise cultivated in oil and natural gas E&P, such as understanding subsurface structures, estimating rock properties, drilling injection wells, conducting production and fluid migration simulations, and subsurface monitoring through seismic surveys.

Geological Carbon Dioxide Storage Technology Research Association

Established in March 2016, the "Geological Carbon Dioxide Storage Technology Research Association" is an organization aimed at developing CO₂ geological storage technology at practical scales, with participation from companies and public research institutions involved in CO₂ geological storage technologies.

Since its establishment, JAPEX has participated in the association and has played a leading role in examining CO₂ microbubble injection technology within the "Efficient Injection and Utilization Technologies for Large-Scale Storage Reservoirs."

Demonstration Test at the Sarukawa Oil Field

The "CO₂ Geological Storage Technology Association," in which our company participates as a member, conducted a CO₂ microbubble injection demonstration test from FY2019 to FY2020 at the Sarukawa Oil Field in Akita Prefecture using an existing well. By injecting "microbubbles" of CO₂--CO₂ in the form of minute bubbles--into the well, it was confirmed that, compared with injection in the ordinary form, both the CO₂ storage rate and the crude oil recovery rate improved.

Since FY2021, based on the results obtained through this demonstration test, studies toward practical application in the field have been underway.

Related Website

• Japan CCS Co., Ltd. Website